Airplane construction



March 30, 19413,

F. FREYTAG AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept.4 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 is filon/gv,

March 30, 1943.

AIRPLNE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ff/w F. FREYTAG 2,315,117

'longer and steeper ramps.

Patented Mar. 30, 1943 AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Fritz Freytag, Dessau, Germany; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application September 8,1939, Serial No. 293,985 v v In Germany September 1 0, 1938A s'ciains. (rc1. 244-118) This invention relates to improvements in airplane construction, and refers particularly Ato the construction of airplanes intended to transport heavy loads.

Airplanes have already been made wherein doorways were provided in the floors of the central portions .of the fuselagesthrough which loading was done, and wherein the doors when openformed ramps extending down to the ground. Such anarrangement, however, is open to the objection that the central portion of the fuselage on which a large portion of the load might otherwise be deposed is displaced, and therefore not available, while loading. Another known arrangement, possible only in airplanes wherein the propelling mechanism is not located in the front portion, or nose, of the fuselage. is to hinge this entire front portion so that it may be swung downwardly to form a loading ladder. This arrangement while permitting utilization ofsubstantially the entire floor space is not well suited for loading -heavy goods'for the reason that the greater height of this end of the fuselage above the ground involves more lifting ofthe goods being loaded or the use of Such an arrangement is also open to the objection that loading from thefront might cause the airplane to tip over if too great a weight were accumulated towards the front during the loading or unloading operation; and further this construction presents many difficulties in designing a satisfactory pilots cabin.

It is an object of thisr invention to provide an airplane construction wherein the entire usable floor space of the fuselage is made available for loading; and wherein the doorway is so positioned that the floorspace immediately adjacent thereto is positioned 'quite close to the the ground thereby affording maximum stability,

. and making loading and unloading both simple and safe.

Another object o f the invention is to provide such an airplane construction wherein the upper and lower portions of the rear extremity `of the fuselage are movable and tog-ether function as a door, so that when moved to open position ready ingress and egress are afforded across the entire width of the fuselage.

A further object of the invention isto provide such an airplane construction wherein the movable rear upper andlower fuselage portions are constructed as a single unit, and are hingedly connected to the rear upper extremity of the fixed portion of the fuselage, so that accessories and smaller Aarticles may be suitably secured to vthe said walls A"of the hinged portion and the limited space therein usefully occupied.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an airplane construction wherein strong, rigid extensions of the fuselage sides pr'oject rearwardly beyond the movable upper and lower walls which constitute the door; and the fuselage sides and their extensions are so constructed and reinforced that the latter, which are preferably elevated towards their rear extremities, support the rear controls, such as rudders and the like, above and clear'of the said door throughout its movement.

Having thus enumerated some of the 'major objects and advantages of the invention, I will now proceed to describe an embodiment thereof with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an airplane equipped with my invention, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof showing the loading door in open position.

Figure 3 shows the retractable tail wheels and the hinged ramp in a greater scale.

Within the fuselage l a storage space for goods, v

such as the trucks indicated at la is provided.

The rear extremities of the upper and lower wall portions of the fuselage, which in the present instanceare formed integral, together constitute a door 2, the forward upper transverse margin of which is hinged .at 4 to the rear extremity of the upper fixed wall 3 of the fuselage. Within the fixed lower wall 5 0f the fuselage a, rigid ooring l5 is provided which forms the oor of the storage space, and may extend rearwardly of the hinges 4 as shown at i6, in .which case the lower movable wall portion l, forming a portion of the door 2, is made shorter than the movable upper wall portion attachedthereto.

The airplane, when on the ground, is supported uponlsuitableiilandingigear Il, and adjacent the rear ofthe xed portion of the fuselage ,tail wheels C may be provided'.

The latter are preferably retractably mounted so that whendesired the rear fixed portion of the fuselage may rest directly upon the ground.

The rearwardly projecting portion l 6 of the flooring I5 may also be hlngedly eonnected'to the latter vto form a ramp if desired as shownat IBa.

` In order that the rear controls, rudders and the like, generally designated by the numenl 9,

may be positioned to permit both unimpeded movement of the hinged rear fuselage portion or door 2, and also to provide easy access through the doorway l formed when the said door is open, or in raised position, shown in'Figure 2', rigid rearward extensions i of the fuselage sides are provided which are upwardly directed at their rear extremities, and upon which the said rear controls are appropriately mounted. l

I8 denotes props or supports which may also be provided. to extend between the nose of the fuselage and the ground to prevent tipping of the airplane in a forward direction when heavy loads are being moved adjacent the front of the v storage space.

From the foregoing it willbe clearly seen that I have devised a .simple form of construction wherein a doorway is located adjacent the rear of the fuselage quite close to the ground to permay be easily arranged so that they are in no wise affected` by the opening of the door.A

It is also understood that the invention is susceptible to such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

' WhatI claim is:

\ 1. In an airplane the combinationof a fuselage the rear end-of which is adapted to rest near or upon'the ground when the plane is grounded, a storage space in said fuselage extendingforwardly from the rear thereof, and a load-supporting floor arranged within said storage space in spaced relation to the bottom of the fuselage wall, said floor including a rearmost portion pivotally connected to the main floor whereby the same may be lowered to form a ramp, the wall at the extreme rear of said fuselage including a portion between the side walls displaceable with reference to the main fuselage'wall to thereby 45` form an opening for loading and unloading said storage space.

2. In an airplane the combination of a-fuselage the rear end of which is adapted to rest near or upon the ground when the plane is grounded, a storage space in said fuselage extending forwardly from the rear thereof, a load-supporting floor arranged within said storage-space in spaced relation to the bottom of the fuselage wall, said floor including a rearmost portion pivotally connected to the main floor whereby the same may be lowered to form a ramp, the wall at the extreme rear of said fuselage including a portion between the side walls displaceable with :refer-l ence to the main fuselage wall to thereby form an opening for loading and unloading said storage space, and a tail wheel retractably mounted between the bottom of the fuselage wall and the load-supporting floor adjacent the rear end of said latter.

3. An airplane fuselage the rear end of which is adapted for support upon or near the ground at a point'forwardly ofits extreme rear' when the plane is grounded, and including storage space extending forwardlylfrom the r'ear thereof, said fuselage comprising a top wall and a bottom wall curving upwardly from adjacent and rearwardly of the point of rear end support to meet the top wall, side walls laterally spaced and conforming in contour at their rear ends to the margins of 'the top and bottom walls, a portion of the top and bottom wallsextending forwardly from the extreme rearbeing disconnected from the side walls for movement together as a unit, the bottom wall portion of said movable unit Aterminating along a substantially transverse line between the fuselage rear end support and the rear end of the fuselage, and the top wall portion terminating in a substantially transverse line forwardly of the terminating line of the bottom wall portion and being pivotally connected to the adjacent fixed portion of the top wall.

4. In an airplane the combination of a fuselage thev rear end of which is adapted for support upon or near the ground at a point forwardly of its extreme rear when' the plane is grounded,..and including storage space extending forwardly from the rear thereof, s id .fuselage comprising a top wall and a bottom wall curving upwardly from adjacent and rearwardly of the point of rear end support to meet the top wall, side walls laterally spaced and conforming in contour at their rear ends to the margins of the top and bottom walls, ar portion of the top and bottom'walls extending forwardly from the extreme rear being disconnected from the side walls for movement together as a unit. the botto'm wall portion of said movable unit terminating along a substantially transverse line between the fuselage rear end support and the rear end of the fuselage, and the top wall portion trmior nearthe ground at a point'forwardly of its extreme rear when the plane is grounded, and

including storage space extending forwardly from the rear thereof, said fuselage comprising a top wall and a bottom wall curving upwardly from adjacent and rearwardly of the point of rear end support to meet the top wall. side walls laterally spaced and conforming in contour at their rear ends to the margins of the top .and bottom walls;

a portion of the top and bottom walls extending forwardly from the extreme rear being disconnected from the side walls for movement together as a unit, the bottom wall portion of said movable unit terminating along a substantially transverse line between the fuselage rear end support and the rear end of the fuselage, and the top wall portion terminating in a substantially transverse line forwardly of the terminating line of the bottom wall portion and being pivotally connected to the adjacent fixed portion of the top wall, a

load-.supporting floor arranged within said Storage space and extending rearwardly of said pivotal connection, said floor being spaced from the bottom of the fuselage wall, and a tail wheel re- .tractably mounted between the bottom of the fuselage wall and the load-supporting floor adjacent the rear end of the latter. v

FRITZFREYTAG. 

